Online Prescription

Rosacea Treatment

Ireland’s Award-Winning Online Doctor Service

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from

€30

Webdoctor.ie
Customer Review

Easy to renew my prescription from comfort of my own home… Ideal using this service less money than a GP visit and added hassle of attending appointment in person.

—Eugene, 21st July 2022

Rosacea Treatments That We Can Provide

Webdoctor.ie can prescribe treatments in the form of creams, gels or oral antibiotics to help control symptoms in those with mild to moderate Rosacea. Order now from just €30.

Please check your dispensed prescription before leaving the pharmacy as no changes can be made after that point.

  • Topical Treatments: Creams or Gels
  • Oral Antibiotics (TABLETS)

How It Works

Requesting a prescription for Rosacea treatment couldn’t be easier with Webdoctor.ie! We despatch your prescription to an Irish pharmacy chosen by you.

Step 1

Online Questionnaire

Complete a short and secure online questionnaire from your phone, tablet or laptop – it only takes a couple of minutes.

Step 2

Medical Review

One of our Irish-registered doctors will review your details to make sure this treatment is medically suitable and safe for you. If our doctor requires further clinical information to help safely assess your request, they will send you a message via your secure patient account.

Step 3

Decision Made
Once approved, your prescription will be sent straight to an Irish pharmacy of your choice using secure Healthmail.

Important Medical Information

Who is this service suitable for?
This service is suitable for you if:

  • You are 17 years of age or older
  • You have been diagnosed with inflammatory Rosacea by a doctor in the past. (Inflammatory Rosacea is when there are small lumps and spots present.)
  • You have mild to moderate Rosacea symptoms
  • You are able to upload 2 clear uptodate photographs of your Rosacea.
Who is this service not suitable for?
This service is not suitable for you if:

  • You have not been diagnosed with Rosacea by a doctor in the past
  • You are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breastfeeding
  • You require a prescription for a medication that is not listed in our medical application questionnaire. We are not able to provide a prescription for oral retinoids.
  • You have other skin conditions that affect your face e.g. acne, lupus
  • You have severe rosacea symptoms
  • You have Rhinophyma associated with Rosacea (This is excessive thickening of the skin around the nose)
  • You have rosacea symptoms that are affecting your eyes or eyelids, now or in the past

Please note: Inflammation/ infection in the front of your eye is a potentially serious, sight-threatening problem. Thankfully, this is uncommon, but you should speak with a doctor URGENTLY if you have rosacea and develop pain in your eye or visual disturbance.

If this service is not suitable for you and you have a flare of your rosacea symptoms you should arrange a face-to-face review with your local doctor or a video consultation with one of our online doctors.

What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is a common long-term skin disorder that normally affects the face (usually the cheeks, forehead, chin and nose). It is most common in adults aged between 30 and 60 years old and in people with fair skin. It can cause distress, particularly when it has been going on for a long time.
Rosacea is a ‘relapsing-remitting’ condition, which means that you will have periods where it flares (relapsing) and times when it settles (remitting). The frequency and duration of both these phases are unpredictable.
What are the symptoms of Rosacea?

Type and severity of symptoms can vary significantly.

There are different types of Rosacea. This is important to consider as they respond to different treatments.

  • Vascular Rosacea: facial flushing, skin redness and prominent blood vessels (telangestica).
    This type of Rosacea does not respond to antibiotic treatment (creams or tablets).
  • Inflammatory Rosacea:  This type of Rosacea often responds to antibiotic treatments.
  • Ocular Rosacea (affects the eyes)
    There are associated eye symptoms in approximately 50% of patients:
    • Dry eyes
    • Itchy/ burning eyes
    • Gritty sensation
    • Sensitive to light
    • Styes and blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids)
    • Inflammation or infection of the cornea (clear outer layer) is a rare but potentially sight threatening condition. You should see a doctor URGENTLY if you have Rosacea and you develop eye pain or visual disturbance.
  • Rhinophyma: thickening of the skin on the nose; this most commonly affects men.
What causes Rosacea?
  • The exact cause is not known and a number of factors are believed to play a role: overactive immune system, genetics and environmental factors, or a combination of these.
  • Demodex folliculorum may also play a role. This is a tiny mite that normally lives on our skin and does not cause any harm. Higher numbers of this have been found on the skin of those with Rosacea.
  • It is not currently believed that Rosacea is caused by bacteria.
  • Rosacea triggers cause the blood vessels in the affected skin to enlarge and a flare of symptoms. There are many different triggers and these vary between people. If identified these should be avoided to reduce symptom flares.
  • It is not caused  by poor hygiene and it is not contagious.
Are there things I can do to help reduce Rosacea flares?
There are lots of things you can do in your daily life to potentially reduce the frequency of Rosacea flares. These changes can often reduce the need for medications:

  • If you know what can trigger your symptoms, avoid these things where possible!

Examples of triggers: alcohol, spicy foods, caffeine, cheese

  • Wear SPF of at least factor 30 every day (even cloudy days) and avoid exposure to direct sunlight.
  • Use a hypoallergenic, non-perfumed and non-greasy moisturising cream if you have dry skin
  • Avoid extremes of heat (turn the temperature down in the shower!)
  • Camouflage creams and make-up can help to cover and conceal erythema and telangiectasia. Your local make-up counter or pharmacist can advise you on this.
What Rosacea treatments can we provide?

Although Rosacea is a long term skin condition there are effective treatments that can help to control your symptoms when they flare. We can arrange prescriptions for a variety of treatments depending on your symptoms. 

The topical treatments (creams/ gels) can be used alone or in combination with oral antibiotic treatments. 

All of the treatments for Rosacea will take at least 4 weeks, and up to 12 weeks before improvements are seen. If there is no improvement after this time, or your symptoms deteriorate during this time then you should arrange a face-2-face review with a doctor

Topical Treatments

These creams and gels will have one of the following:

  • Antibiotic medication 
  • Anti-mite medication (Demodex folliculorum )
  • Anti-inflammatory properties

Oral antibiotics: Tetracyclines 

These oral antibiotics are used in the treatment of Rosacea for their anti-inflammatory effects rather than their anti-bacterial properties, as it is not currently believed that bacteria contribute to this skin condition. They are useful in inflammatory rosacea (spots/ lumps present).

They are not helpful in vascular Rosacea (flushing, redness and telangiectasia).

If clinically appropriate, a prescription for 12 weeks of antibiotic treatment (tablets) may be issued, but current guidance is that this is of limited value in non-inflammatory Rosacea. This should be used along with a non-antibiotic cream/ gel for best results.

What are the side effects of these treatments?

The most common side effect of the topical treatments is skin irritation (dry skin, redness, peeling and burning sensation).

It is important to know that these treatments can make your symptoms worse before they improve.

Using these products more frequently than advised will not have any beneficial effect on symptom control, and will significantly increase the risk of problematic skin irritation.

Some patients may develop side effects when using oral antibiotics such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain (‘heartburn’). If you develop a persistent headache with blurred vision/ loss of vision, stop this medication and seek urgent medical advice.

Both the topical AND the oral treatments prescribed will make your skin more photosensitive and therefore more likely to burn. Exposure to sunlight/ sun lamps should be avoided. This can also be a trigger for a flare of rosacea symptoms.

For full details on potential side effects of your medication, please ensure that you read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medication before you start to use it for full details on potential side effects.

If you are concerned that you are developing any side effects, we advise that you stop your medication and seek medical advice.

Need more information on Rosacea?

For further information about Rosacea, including useful skincare tips refer to PCDS.

Important safety information

When completing the questionnaire, please ensure you let us know exactly what medications you are taking and if you have any other medical problems. This will enable us to advise you on appropriate treatments and prescribe them safely for you.

This service is intended for people who have typical flares of their symptoms. We strongly advise that if you notice any changes in your typical symptoms or develop new symptoms that you arrange a face-to-face consultation.

Why Choose Webdoctor.ie?

Expertise

All of our doctors are registered with the Irish Medical Council and provide convenient and confidential healthcare to our patients.

Confidential

The same doctor-patient confidentiality exists as in a regular face-to-face consultation, so you’ll be in good hands.

Caring

Webdoctor.ie was created by and is led by medical professionals, so patient safety is always our priority.
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Convenience

From the comfort of home, avail of instant access to medical expertise, including evenings & weekends.

Value

Affordable healthcare with prescriptions (subject to clinical suitability) from just €30 and video consultations starting from €49.

Irish

Webdoctor.ie is an Irish-based healthcare provider that has carried out over 130,000 patient consultations.

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